…In this movie, we're going to adjust the line weight, as well as…the stroke colors, in order to establish some variety in our path outlines.…I'm going to start off by selecting both of the jaw shapes.…So, I'll click on one and Shift-click on the other, using my black arrow tool.…And, I'll go ahead and Shift-click on these two path outlines, as well.…Along the sides of my mouth.…I'll Shift-click on all three of the nose shapes like so.…Not the nostrils, by the way.…Leave them alone.…And also Shift-click on these two lines under the…eyes as well as the outlines of the ears.…

Not the shapes inside the ears, just the outlines…of the ears And again, this is all subjective stuff.…So if you decide I'm wrong, then try something different.…And now I'm going to change the line weight up…here in the control panel to two points, and…I'll press the Enter key, or the Return key…on the Mac, in order to apply that change.…And then I'll click off the path outlines to deselect them.…I'm going to marquee this nostril over here on the right hand side.…

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Released

4/22/2014

Designs dekeConstructed is a new series that breaks down the creation of cool designs so you can build them on your own. This installment is for everyone who needs an online avatar—that tiny image that has to communicate a thousand words about who you are in less than a square inch. Start by taking a photo of yourself facing forward—the traditional passport style. From there Deke McClelland takes you through the steps to transforming your photo into a cartoon avatar with Illustrator: tracing your features, refining and exaggerating the strokes, adding color and shading, and using gradients and patterns to fill in details like hair. Plus, learn some tricks for infusing your drawing with an extra bit of personality and exporting your final image in the best format for social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.